Related Podcast

A Treaty of Waitangi settlement bill passed by Parliament today will return the Hauraki Gulf sanctuary to the hapū for a week, after which it will be gifted back to the Crown with Ngāti Manuhiri retaining 1.2 hectares and a co-governance role.

Māori Affairs Minister Pita Sharples told Parliament that the removal of families from the island by police and soldiers in January 1896 was just part of a long process from 1840 that saw the hapu's 250,000 estate stretching from Whangaparaoa to Paepae ō Tū or Bream Head shrink to just 1300 acres.

The bill leaves the door open for Ngāti Wai to also share co-management of the island with the Department of Conservation.